Chinese official pleads guilty to corruption, abuse of power

Sun Zhengcai was the young mayor of Chongqing, one of China's fastest-growing cities, and expected to take up national leadership roles, but now he has been caught in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown.

A former senior official in China - once a contender for a leadership position - has pleaded guilty to charges of corruption. Sun Zhengcai is one of the most prominent figures charged as part of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown. He has pleaded guilty to taking bribes worth of $27m and abuse of power between 2002 and 2017. Before he was expelled, Sun was the youngest member of the Politburo - a committee of the ruling Communist Party's top members.

Analysts say the Xi’s anti-corruption campaign is more really about eliminating political rivals.